Mall was being built without prior environment clearance, Bihar govt tells HC
Patna,(BiharTimes): Just a day before the CBI raids on the official bungalow of Lalu Prasad and other places the Bihar government on Thursday submitted in the Patna high court a letter of the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change, stating the Delite Mall at Saguna Mor on the western outskirts of Patna was being built without prior environment clearance.
As reported the mall is coming up on a plot owned by a firm run by the family of Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad.
The letter was attached to a counter affidavit filed by the Bihar State Pollution Control Board in reply to a PIL filed by Manibhushan Pratap Sengar, a lawyer.
The PIL has sought the directive of court for an independent probe into the mall construction and alleged illegal sale of soil to the Patna Zoo by the mall developer.
This issue was first raised by the leader of opposition in the Bihar Legislative Council, Sushil Kumar Modi, in the first week of April.
The counter affidavit of Bihar State Pollution Control Board says absence of environment clearance is a violation of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. The pollution board has also attached to its counter affidavit a copy its order to mall developer to stop the construction work.
Syed Abu Dojana, RJD MLA, is the MD of Meridian Construction (India) Limited, which is constructing the mall.
The order to Dojana was issued on May 19, four days after the Union ministry on May 15 directed the state government to stop the construction work at the site.
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